GAINESVILLE — Florida heads to the Lone Star State for a scheduling two-step more daunting than any school faces in 2024.
Consecutive games against No. 2 Georgia and No. 5 Texas set up to be the ultimate a 1-2 punch to kick off a November slate highlighting the nation’s most difficult schedule.
The Gators head to Austin presumably down their top two quarterbacks. With veteran Graham Mertz watching from the sideline on crutches following knee surgery, freshman phenom DJ Lagway injured his left leg and was carted off the field during the second quarter of UF’s 34-20 loss to Georgia.
Coach Billy Napier said an MRI Sunday revealed a soft tissue injury “less significant” than feared, while holding out hope he could be available.
Lagway’s status will be “pretty clear-cut” by midweek, per Napier. Barring a remarkable recovery, redshirt freshman walk-on Aidan Warner will make his first start at 100,119-seat Darrell K Royal Texas Memorial Stadium.
How did Gators end up in this QB situation?
Warner is a feel-good story, but the Yale transfer does not fit the profile of an SEC quarterback. The former Winter Park High standout also is Florida’s best hope.
Attrition, recruiting misses and legal matters have left Florida with just three scholarship quarterbacks, Mertz, Lagway and Colorado State transfer Clay Millen, whom Warner outperformed during fall camp (now his backup).
Eight scholarship signal-callers have left Florida’s program prematurely under Napier, including 2023 NFL first-round pick Anthony Richardson, promising Ohio State transfer Jack Miller III, 2023 Under Armour All-American Jaden Rashada and Jalen Kitna, son of 15-year NFL veteran QB Jon Kitna.
Miller retired after thumb injuries on his throwing hand and another to his throwing shoulder; Rashada backed out of his commitment amid a failed $13.8 million NIL deal that led to an ongoing lawsuit against Napier; and Kitna was dismissed from the team amid charges of two counts for disorderly conduct stemming his arrest for child pornography in late November 2022.
Circumstances beyond Napier’s control and the nature of the sport have left him with limited options.
“We carry four on scholarship, typically, and a fifth if we were able to,” he said. “But nowadays there’s a lack of patience, and everybody wants to be the guy. You are always looking for that fourth player.”
Is Napier willing to go off script against Texas?
Given the Gators’ quarterback situation, a kitchen sink game plan might be the Florida’s best hope to move the ball against a unit allowing nation-leading averages of 241.3 yards and 3.81 yards per play.
Unbalanced lines and some heavy packages, with 6-foot-3, 265-pound edge rusher Jack Pyburn, helped the Gators rout Kentucky 48-20. True freshman tailback Jadan Baugh was a Wildcat formation quarterback in high school. Massive tight end Hayden Hansen (6-7 3/4, 267) was a high school quarterback in Weatherford, Texas.
“Put me in there, I’ll let it fly,” Hansen said Monday. “I would love nothing more than that.”
The Gators have nothing to lose.
Napier might have to fight the urge to play conservatively, take few chances and rely on his run game and field position to eke out an ugly win.
Instead, he might be best served to steal a page from Florida’s 2013 close-call at South Carolina.
The injury-riddled Gators were forced to rely on first-time starter Skyler Mornhinweg against a defense led by All-America end Jadeveon Clowney. But UF offensive coordinator Brent Pease installed enough wrinkles to stay competitive during a 19-14 loss to a squad destined to go 11-2 and finish ranked No. 6 under Steve Spurrier.
Napier is well familiar with those days.
“Obviously, Coach had had great success here,” Napier said of Spurrier recently. “What stamped Coach is what he did at South Carolina. That’s when my level of respect really went to the next level.”
Napier could elevate his own standing at UF with a creative game plan and competitive showing in Austin.
Can Florida survive without its top four cornerbacks?
Facing third-and-7 with less than 10 minutes remaining and the score 20-20, Georgia quarterback Carson Beck targeted UF defensive back Trikweze Bridges left to cover Arian Smith one-on-one.
The Bulldogs’ most dynamic receiver picked up 34 yards against a Gators defensive back moved from safety to cornerback, a position he had not played since transferring from Oregon after the 2023 season. But Bridges was UF’s best option following in-game injuries to starter Devin Moore and backup Dijon Johnson, along with the absences of Jason Marshall Jr. — out for the season following a shoulder injury against Kentucky — and Ja’Keem Jackson, who has sat out since starting Weeks 1 and 2.
Meanwhile, Colorado transfer Cormani McClain has been forced into a more substantial role. The 5-star prospect has shown promise, but remains raw and inexperienced. Versatile redshirt freshman Aaron Gates’ ability to play multiple positions is an asset, but Texas also is tied for the SEC lead with 23 touchdown passes and is second to Ole Miss with a 161.5 passer rating.
“We’re really testing our position [flexibility] right now,” Napier said.
Could Jeremy Crawshaw be Florida’s most important player?
The Gators’ punter has been superb all season, but rarely better than against Georgia.
Six of Crawshaw’s eight punts traveled inside Georgia’s 20-yard line and five were longer than 50 yards. The Bulldogs generated 13 points on three drives following Florida’s punts, but the Bulldogs generally found themselves behind the chains in the field-position battle.
The injury-riddled Gators will need find advantages where they can. Hidden yardage is a good place to start, even though the impact of Crawshaw, the nation’s fifth-leading punter (46.97 yards per punt), is well known.
Does playing in Texas expand Florida’s recruiting footprint?
The SEC’s continued inroads into one of the nation’s recruiting hotbeds can only help member schools grow their brands.
Few are more recognizable than the Gators.
Lagway and Hansen are the only Texans who Napier signed out of high school. A smattering have made their impact at UF, including record-setting quarterback Kyle Trask and former pass rusher Princely Umanmielen who is now thriving at Ole Miss.
Defensive end Jarvis Moss and tight end Tate Casey, natives of Denton and Longview played for the 2006 national title team.
The Gators have played three times at Texas A&M since the Aggies joined the SEC in 2012, though the 2020 game was staged during the COVID-19 pandemic. Florida’s first trip to Austin since 1939, followed by the Longhorns’ 2025 visit to the Swamp, are more chances to impress Lone Star State up-and-comers like Lagway.
Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com
Up next …
Florida at Texas
When: Noon, Saturday, Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium
TV: ABC
